| Richmond, May 25, 1864 |
| |
| General B. Bragg |
| Richmond, Va. |
| |
| General, |
| I have the honor to report
the following as the result of my inspection of the guards at the
bridges on the {Richmond &} Danville
railroad, and also to report, as directed, other facts which came
under my observation: At the bridge over the Appomattox River, near
Mattoax Station, the guard on the 20th instant consisted of 100 men
and 7 commissioned officers from the Eighth Regiment Virginia
Infantry, commanded by Captain Bibb, of the Twentieth Battalion
Heavy Artillery. This guard was well armed and had plenty of
ammunition. They had two pieces of artillery well posted and the
position protected by a line of riflepits. I suggested that the
telegraph operator be moved from Powhatan, the next station below,
to Mattoax, for the convenience of communicating promptly with the
officer in command of the guard. All the reserve militia of Powhatan
County
have been ordered to rendezvous at the Appomattox
bridge. Two miles and a half above Mattoax I found about 250
dismounted cavalry, under Captain Nicholson, belonging to Hampton's Legion. These I sent to
Richmond
to report to Major-General Ransom. I directed the officer commanding
at Mattoax to send a small guard up to Flat Creek to prevent the
bridge being burnt by negroes or evil-disposed persons. There were
at Burkeville 400 furloughed soldiers of General Lee's army detained
to protect that point at the time of the approach of the raiders.
There were no reserves at Burkeville. Colonel Davis, an officer
detailed to organize the militia, had established his headquarters
at that place, and was taking steps to assemble the reserve forces
of the neighboring counties. The only other bridge where a guard was
needed was at the Staunton
River. Here forty of the reserve militia had assembled under the command
of Captain Bailey. They were armed with muskets, and had three
pieces of artillery in good condition and one piece that had the
carriage broken by accident on the railroad. All the reserves of Halifax
and Charlotte
Counties
are directed to assemble at the Staunton
bridge. These forces will be sufficient to defend the bridge against
any attack that would probably be made. An assistant engineer was on
his way to carry tools and to direct the construction of defenses at
this and other important bridges on the route. A battalion of 350
men belong to the post of
Danville, but only thirty were there at the time of my inspection, the rest
having gone south as guards to prisoners. The defenses constructed
at Danville
are incomplete, and there were no guns to put in them except a
battery of field pieces. The reserve troops of counties adjacent
were ordered to report at Danville
on Saturday, the 28th of May. No prisoners, except the few sick,
remain in Danville. Prisoners en route for the south are detained but a few
hours. There are no bridge guards on the Piedmont road. It is
completed through, but is not in good condition. The grades on that
portion recently finished are steep and the track badly laid. |
| I am, very respectfully, your obedient
servant, |
| Thomas Butler |
| Captain, &c. |
|